Anyone seen rail cars built? it’s pretty interesting. There’d be 1000 men working on a line (I was a welder). We’d build 10-12 box cars per shift, flat cars were easier. We’d build 18 of those per shift.
Train loads of steel went in one end of a line. Along with wheels an axles which were made elsewhere and shipped in. (the factory had 3 lines producing different types of rail cars)
There was a carriage sub-shop. Wheels and axles were mated and mounted under carriages. Carriages were supplied to each line. The main foundation beam went on top of two carriages. Then flooring, sides, doors and a roof for box cars. Everything was cut, welded and made from sheets of steel.
Each line had sub-shops along it at strategic places. There were door shops etc. close to where that part or subassembly would be added to a rail car. There were paint shops everywhere. Sometimes painting sub-assemblies before adding to a car. At the end the whole car was then painted.
A train factory was a very large and dangerous place. Tons of steel were in constant motion, sometimes suspended in the air from cranes or hoist systems. Accidents were common place, sometimes fatal. I saw one guy, kept me up at night for weeks. He got closed in a coupler between two rail cars.
As a welder my usual injury was catching on fire, my shirt, pants. I kept a change of clothes in my car. A guy once got sloppy where he was pointing his wire welder gun. It was cored wire 1/4" dia. He finished a weld and turned towards me without raising his hood. He ran the glowing wire through my bicep to the bone. I was welding and couldn't see. Suddenly a molton hot piece of steel got run through my arm. That'll wake you up! It didn't bleed, everything was cauterized. I could pull up my skin and look through the hole, see my muscles, tendons etc. Still have that scar.
Anyone who welds regularly gets their eyes burned occasionally. I kept a bag of potatoes in my car. My eyes got burned by welding flash fairly often. I'd drive home holding a slice of raw potato over one eye. Don't ask me how it works but it's an old welders trick. The potato will draw the heat from a burn. My eyes would feel so much better after an hour with potatoes on them.
These are stock photos I've found on the net...
A carriage shop
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A coupler between two rail cars. I saw a guy get squashed in one.
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I've built a lot of these yellow rail box cars. I was in the side shop for a year. 12 cars built every shift (24 sides), we ran 2 shifts on that line.
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@Spikedriver called these "TT cars" "piggy backs". My jobs was to weld the 5th wheel assembly to each one.
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Circled in red is a 5th wheel assembly. Each car used to have a big serial number painted near the end. Somewhere I wrote down the first serial number and the last one I worked on. Years later I would sometimes see a car I worked on while waiting at a RR crossing watching a train go by.
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